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September 05, 2007

The Real Problem w/Senator Craig

It's been hard to miss the ongoing saga of Idaho senator Larry Craig whose recent arrest and guilty plea for lewd behavior in an airport restroom has been a top news story for the last week or so. After being nearly ex-communicated from the Republican party, last weekend Craig announced his resignation from the US Senate.

Or did he? Today's headline is that Craig may "reconsider" his resignation, depending on the outcome of his "reconsideration" of his guilty plea.

Personally, I don't care whether Craig is straight, gay, bisexual or something in between--that's his business. What bothers me most about this is that the man seems to not have a backbone: he can't make a decision and stick with it.

First he pleads guilty to the bathroom charge. Then after this is publicized, he reconsiders his decision. Then he decides to resign his Senate seat. But a few days later, he reconsiders his decision.

We're not talking about choosing paint for your living room, or which car you want to drive. The decisions Craig has made in the last several months are serious ones. One does not plead guilty to a crime without considering the implications thereof. He had the right to an attorney and appears to have not availed himself of one before submitting his pleas. Before resigning from an elected position, one should consider that it's unlikely they can simply "unresign" later. If the man can't understand the implications and repercussions of making a decision and living with it, then in my book, he should also not be making decisions about topics that impact all of us such as the war in Iraq, government funding or other key issues that may come before Congress.

I don't understand why we as a society, and Republicans in particular, are so obsessed by people's individual sex lives. However, as a long-time member of that party and an elected official representing that party in national office, Craig should have understood how behavior like this would impact his standing with his colleagues and his constituents. He is responsible for his own actions and the consequences thereof. If he was innocent, he should have not pleaded guilty. If he didn't believe this should impact his ability to serve his constituents, he should not have resigned.